CubeSats Launch from Vandenberg

Atlas V NROL-36On August 2, 2012 at 07:40 UT an Atlas V rocket is planned to launch a combination of 11 satellites from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California for the US Government and NASA ELaNa university CubeSats.

The primary mission will launch a pair of US Navy Ocean Surveillance Satellites (NOSS). These satellites carry equipment to track ships and aircraft by triangulation of radio transmissions. The two NOSS satellites have a combined weight of 6500 kg. They will separate a few days after being placed into a 1100 km circular orbit at 63° inclination.

Atlas V Payload illustrationThis is the first Atlas V launch with modified helium tanks in the Centaur upper stage. The change has created room in the aft skirt to accommodate 8 P-POD dispensers for CubeSats. This launch carries 11 CubeSats, to be released into 470 x 770 km, 63° orbit about 3 hours after launch and following maneuvers by the Centaur upper stage.

NASA ELaNa Launch and Deployment

3 P-Pods will carry 4 CubeSats as the NASA sponsored “ELaNa VI” cluster:

1. CINEMA (CubeSat for Ion, Neutral, Electron, Magnetic fields)
http://www.eecs.berkeley.edu/Pubs/TechRpts/2010/EECS-2010-83.pdf

Cinema Berkeley Space Physics Research Group imageFirst in a trio of identical nano-satellites studying Space Weather effects in near-Earth space, 3U CubeSat from University of California at Berkeley,

Uplink uses a serial connection with a data rate of 9600 bps.

Downlinks for engineering telemetry and command are in the 2400-2450 MHz range; Science telemetry is in 2200-2300 MHz range.

1 Mbps data rate, Reed-Solomon encoded bit stream.

2. CSSWE (Colorado Student Space Weather Experiment)
http://lasp.colorado.edu/home/about/quick-facts-csswe/

3U CubeSat designed and developed by students at the University of Colorado at Boulder (CU-Boulder). The objective of the science mission is to address fundamental questions pertaining to the relationship between solar flares and energetic particles.

Downlink 437.345 MHz, 9k6 with AX25

CP5 CubeSat CalPoly3. CP5 (PolySat)
http://polysat.calpoly.edu/CP5.php

California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo mission with De-Orbiting Experiment Using A Deployed Thin-Film Mechanism.

Downlink 437.405 MHz at 1 watt, AFSK on LSB AX.25 over NRZI at 1200 bps, every 2 minutes, begins 3.5 hours after first turn-on

4. CXBN (Cosmic X-Ray Background Nanosatellite)
http://universe.sonoma.edu/CXBNanosat/

Morehead State University mission to map the entire sky in the X-ray spectrum using high energy cosmic background radiation measurements in the 30-50 keV range. 2U CubeSat.

Downlink 437.525 MHz, GFSK, AX.25

US Government Payloads
5 P-PODs will carry 7 US Government payloads (list subject to confirmation):

Aeneas University of Southern California1. Aeneas
Aeneas Project

Department of Homeland Security satellite technology demonstration program to track cargo containers worldwide, 3U CubeSat built by the University of Southern California. Proof of concept mission to prove the concept of WiFi based tag tracking from Low Earth Orbit.

First CubeSat to deploy 2.4 GHz Dish Antenna. WiFi transmitter will transmit on 2425.0 MHz with 1 watt of output power.

Downlink 437.600 MHz AX25 1200 bps beacon every 10 second and a spread spectrum two-way link elsewhere in the 70cm band.

2. ORSES (ORS Enabler Satellite)
Operationally Responsive Space office, 3U CubeSat for the US Army Space and Missile Defense Command.

3. Horus
One of a satellite pair (with Re) has optical sensors to detect orbiting payloads and debris for orbit measurement, 3U CubeSat from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

4. Re
Second satellite of a pair (with Horus) has optical sensors to detect orbiting payloads and debris for orbit measurement, 3U CubeSat from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory,

5. 6. 7. Aerocube 4A, 4B, 4C
Built and operated by the Aerospace Corporation for technical research.

Source AMSAT News Service ANS and UK Amsat

Successful Vega Launch

Vega is launched successful and Satellite Signals are Heard.

Vega First LaunchThe first Vega, flight VV01, lifted off at 1000 UT from the ESA Spaceport at Kourou in the Caribbean carrying eight student built amateur radio satellites and the LARES Laser Relativity Satellite into orbit.

At 1153 UT Drew Glasbrenner KO4MA reported hearing signals from the satellites as they went past Florida. Signals were first heard in the United Kingdom at around 1208 UT.

In Germany Mike Rupprecht DK3WN copied the satellites at an elevation of just 3 degress at 1209 UT, see his Satblog

A recording of PW-Sat made by Wouter Weggelaar PA3WEG can be heard at this link

Watch the launch of Vega VV01

ElaNa cubesat ID’s published

Thanks to the satblog from DK3WN, I saw that Space-Track.com published now the ID’s for the last cubesat launch.

DICE 1
1 37851U 11061B   11335.98213095 +.00005465 +00000-0 +44960-3 0 00372
2 37851 101.7084 281.3727 0254523 194.8404 164.5233 14.77965880005103
DICE 2
1 37852U 11061C   11335.98154484 +.00005944 +00000-0 +48768-3 0 00438
2 37852 101.7074 281.3718 0254311 194.8534 164.5099 14.78016598005106
RAX-2
1 37853U 11061D   11336.52203229  .00005951  00000-0  48803-3 0   339
2 37853 101.7000 282.1398 0254011 193.6021 165.8244 14.78071279  5174
AUBIESAT-1
1 37854U 11061E   11335.84070964  .00006374  00000-0  51608-3 0   340
2 37854 101.7036 281.1694 0255290 195.0285 164.3221 14.78269655  5064
M-CUBED/EXP-1 PRIME
1 37855U 11061F   11335.84128847  .00006165  00000-0  49988-3 0   329
2 37855 101.7072 281.1754 0255380 195.0474 164.3035 14.78230731  5068

Any idea why M-Cubed and E1P use the same Catalog number? Are we missing an International Designator?

Update: Dec 6, 2011

DK3WN posted on his satblog: RF Confirmation –  M-Cubed attached to E1P

Spectrum M-Cubed-E1P DK3DWN